Archives for September 24, 2012

Since the day Jim Henson brought Kermit the Frog to life, we’ve all been getting a better understanding of what it means to be green. Kermit set his own rainbow in the sky
and we saw a new promise of joy in the world.

It’s an honor to celebrate the life of Jim Henson, whom we miss even to this day, for his extraordinary talents and fascinating character. If you’ve ever wondered whether
a person can truly be drawn to their life’s work at an early age, you only have to look at Jim as a teenager in high school to see how his passion for puppetry began. Of course, it was later—after his college years and his collaboration with Frank Oz and others—that he became known as the greatest tenant that ever moved to Sesame Street.

Because of him, some of us had relationships with Big Bird and Bert and Ernie well before we realized there was another world apart from our TV sets. We learned what it meant
to be a friend, what it meant to be different, and even what it meant to be an adult. We learned to appreciate and acknowledge each other in new ways.

Jim Henson was one of the first puppeteers to give precise mouth movements to his characters so that they could become more human. He wasted no time designing appealing and fun characters for every age group. Soon, Miss Piggy was born to be Kermit’s “girlfriend,” Fozzie Bear joined the team of friends and numerous other personalities emerged, all of whom helped to make the Muppets a household name.

Henson, who was born in 1936, built a legacy that few can rival and certainly we are all
the better for it. When he stepped out on the stage of the Ed Sullivan show in the 50’s a new kind of star was born and it shone brightly.

Today that star lives on in the work that Jim Henson’s children continue to build, bringing a new generation of viewers a reason to look at life with renewed joy each day. It may not be easy being “green,” but it’s easy for all of us to embrace the work of this innovative puppet creator.

On September 24th, we sing Happy Birthday to Jim Henson and are grateful for the role he played in giving all of us a beautiful rainbow connection.